June 2009

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Update on the Appalachian Trail and Governor Sanford of S.C.

June 24, 2009 in Go Green, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

Bu Susan Seliger

We don’t really care to comment about South Carolina’s Governor, Mark Sanford’s admission today that he had an affair with an Argentinian woman. We like to steer clear of politics and keep life focused on what really counts — the eco side of the economy.

But what we cannot understand is his misrepresentation to his wife and staff — and really, to all of us — that he was on the Appalachian Trail when he wasn’t.  (See yesterday’s post.) We were so proud of him as we imagined him hiking amidst all those outdoorsy folks, walking stoically past those out there out parading in their birthday suits  on Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail — eyes straight ahead and thinking only of the beauty of nature.

No, what is really hard to believe is that anyone would chose Argentina over the Appalachian Trail.  We are mystified and a little sad about being misled.

But we are pleased that in his press conference today, Governor Sanford did reaffirm his love of the Appalachian Trail. And after all this brouhaha, maybe a peaceful hike on that trail would be just what he –and all of us, come to think of it — need to think things over.

So once again, turn off the TV, put down the paper, and check out the Appalachian Trail website for the the fastest way to hit the trail and get away from it all.

Photo Credit: purebound.com

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Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail: Missing Governor Sanford Found — Just Hiking the Trail

June 23, 2009 in Go Green, Healthy Living, Uncategorized by susan | 1 comment

By Susan Seliger

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is no longer considered missing. Though he seems to have disappeared for a few days over Father’s Day, his staff now says he was just out hiking  the Appalachian Trail and could not be reached. And it is only a “coincidence” that he was out there on Naked Hiking Day — yes, there is a naked hiking day on the trail — celebrated on the first day of summer. (No, that is not the Governor in any of these photos.)

The Governor has still not returned, according to the Christian Science Monitor but his wife says she is not concerned — he was writing something and needed his space. The staff say Naked Day had nothing to do with his disappearance. And the Park rangers say that they do not condone or encourage Naked Day — and people caught out in nature au naturel could get fined.

Who says hiking can’t be sexy?

For more on hiking the Appalachian Trail — any day — go to their website. Clothes optional.

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Free Diet Tips — Forget Diets — Just Think Small

June 13, 2009 in Go Green, Healthy Living, Saving Money, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

By Susan Seliger

If you want to feel trim and fit so you can get outside in the great green world, forget diet pills, carb-counting and weight-tracking. Just remember one simple trick — think small.

We’re talking utensils here.

No doubt you’ve heard that the key to healthy eating and losing weight is eating smaller portions. But that takes self-control. And who has that?

Well, you can trick yourself into exerting portion control simply by using smaller plates, smaller bowls — and, according to a medical study, smaller serving spoons.

Researchers In a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that people who used larger serving spoons gave themselves 14.5% more ice cream – and those with larger bowls, gave themselves 31% more ice cream.

When the test subjects used both a large spoon and a large bowl, it was an even bigger disaster — they ate 56.8 % more ice cream than those using smaller tools. And these subjects included nutrition experts who you’d think would know better! Hey, we’re all just human — and, it turns out, slaves to our utensils.  (The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published the study.)

See– smaller is beautiful!

I wonder if sitting on a smaller chair could have a similar effect on your … No? Not the same? Darn.

Photo credit: wwww.veggievampire.net

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Double the Life of Post-It Notes — Save $100 Million and Reduce the Landfills

June 2, 2009 in Biking, Free Stuff, Go Green, Green Products, Health Hazards, Save Resources, Saving Money, Uncategorized by susan | 2 comments

By Susan Seliger

I have come up with a discovery so beautiful in its simplicity that I feel like 3M’s Art Fry and colleague Spencer Silver must have felt upon inventing the Post-It Note decades ago. And like those fine gentlemen, I am giving this discovery away free.

The technique for doubling the life of Post-It notes is so simple and elegant that I don’t know why I have not read about it before. As you’ll see when I reveal the technique below, (which I am affectionately calling, “Be Nice, Use It Twice”) you’ll wish you had started years ago.

Can you imagine the savings??? There are 6,005,000,000 post it notes sold every year – 6 billion – according to Wiki Answers. (If six 100-packs cost about $10, that’s $100 million right there.)

Though 3M’s sales are down 20% from last year, the company is still reporting first-quarter sales of $5.1 billion, — over $20 billion per year – and a good chunk of that is from those cute little sticky notes, according to  Industrial Distribution, a Reed Business publication.

Everybody loves to use those cute notes with the low-tack adhesive on the back. They’re not just stuck all over your office and mine. The FBI uses so many of them that they’ve coined a term for them: FLYNs.

“That stands for ‘funny little yellow notes.’ Except I’m cleaning it up when I say ‘funny,’” according to Fry, one of the inventors of the notes as quoted in an entertaining article by Greg Beato, called Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes.

The U.S. Post Office uses a higher-adhesive version of the yellow address labels to forward mail.

Who doesn’t use them?

So get ready to save big: Double your usage, double your fun. Here’s how.

Be Nice, Use It Twice Technique

1. After you have filled out the top of the post-it note – and you have already done the chore: BUY MILK, DEODERANT, DOG FOOD – Fold the note up and over at the point where the adhesive bar at the top ends. Make a sharp crease.

2. You will see before you a whole new post-it note. Write a second message, then lift the note back up a little and it will stand up like a little message-soldier.

The area to write on is slightly smaller. But the second-time around the note is even more helpful at reminding you what to do because it STANDS UP instead of lying flat on your desk. How cute is that!

If everyone took this simple step, we could save hard-working, multi-tasking Americans (with memory deficits that require post-it notes to survive) over $100 million a year. Maybe this simple act won’t exactly empty the landfills, but imagine how much space we could save by keeping over 6 billion of these little sticky suckers out of the dumps every year.

Be nice, Use it twice.

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